Communication Could Be Key To Blacks In Space

Blacks need to work on communication skills as well as mathematics and engineering if they are to expand the ranks of minority astronauts, one of NASA's three black astronauts said Tuesday.

Charles Bolden, speaking to about 100 secondary school teachers who are trying to help black students become engineers, said NASA hired 30 astronaut trainees in 1984 and 1985, none of whom were black.

The black applicants were qualified academically but lacked the confidence to communicate well in interviews and had not made written contributions to their fields, Bolden said.

''If you are going to sell what you have to offer to the world, to make it a better place, then you have got to be able to communicate,'' he said.

Bolden urged teachers to use creative methods to encourage average students with potential to participate and succeed in science.

He warned that NASA probably won't hire more astronauts for a while because it has 88 now and flights likely will not resume for two years because of the Challenger explosion.

He said, however, that NASA needs engineers specializing in communication, data processing and robotics.

Bolden, 39, who in January flew on the last successful shuttle mission, spoke at a 10-day teacher workshop sponsored by the Southeastern Consortium for Minorities in Engineering. The event was held at the University of Central Florida.

The consortium based in Atlanta provides curriculum enrichment to secondary schools and workshops for teachers and principals. It has 160 secondary school affiliates and is supported by more than 60 corporations.

UCF, one of 22 college members, has 100 black and 125 Hispanic engineering students out of 3,000, for a minority enrollment of 7.5 percent, said Lucy Morse, an engineering instructor who coordinated the event.

By comparison, the percentage of working engineers nationally is only 2.8 percent, according to UCF. Bolden said that is why he often speaks to student groups about NASA.

The consortium is helping. Its annual report shows affiliated high school graduates are far more likely to continue their education than the general population and have much higher Scholastic Aptitude Test scores than blacks nationally.

One of the three top scholars honored Tuesday was Shekinah DeLoach, 17, who graduated from Oak Ridge High School in Orlando and plans to major in genetic engineering at UCF.

Bolden said neither he nor his audiences have been disheartened by the Challenger accident. ''I don't notice any lack of enthusiasm. In fact, some of them seem to be more motivated because they see an opportunity to contribute to the program.''